Households across the UK are being warned that their winter energy bills could be even worse this year than they were 12 months ago, despite a big drop in wholesale energy prices.
In 2022, the median household in the UK paid an annualised energy bill of around £2,100 after receiving thousands of pounds of government support.
This year, from October 1 to December 31, bills for an average home are expected to be around £1,923, but due to an increase in the standing charge between last winter and this, households that use less electricity are actually likely to see higher bills than they did last year.
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Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearly has warned that the lack of government support this winter compared to last means bills aren’t going to be any lower for many people.
Speaking to MPs on the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, he said: “There is some positive news. The market is more stable, it is less volatile and prices are lower than this time last year.
“This time last year, we were anticipating and seeing prices at around £4,200 a year without government support. And last year, government did step in to give tens of billions of pounds of support to customers.
“But there is a reality for customers this year: That support is not available. So for many people, their bills will be very similar this year and possibly worse for some than they were last year.”
If you’re worried about expensive energy costs this winter, Martin Lewis has shared a simple tip that could help households shave more than £100 off their annual bills.
Martin explained: “This is one of the easiest things to do and British Gas says dropping the temperature by one degree could save £145 a year on average for a typical home.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a home heated to 18C is warm enough for healthy adults (the young or elderly may need slightly higher temperatures), yet many homes have their thermostats set in the 20s.
Even though it doesn’t sound like a huge change, households that drop their thermostat by just one degree could actually reduce their heating bill by 10%, Martin says.
He also advised against cranking the heating up when it’s colder outside, as the thermostat will still heat your home to the set temperature – it just might take slightly longer when in chilly weather.
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